Page 34: of Marine Technology Magazine (May 2025)

FEATURE CABLES & CONNECTORS “Polyethylene-based polymer cables have demonstrated exceptional subsea performance, maintaining

Teledyne Impulse-PDM’s latest developments in durability for over 25 years optical expanded beam technology are designed to with minimal degradation.” withstand the most extreme marine environments.

– Glen Richardson,

Engineering Director, SMI

Optical ? bers are often used in systems that require greater bandwidth over longer distances, with a smaller footprint—smaller hull penetrations— for applications such as offshore oil and gas, towed arrays, side scan sonar systems, and oceanographic instrumentation.

Image courtesy Birns Image courtesy Teledyne

Image courtesy SMI wind applications to address the requirements of longer step- beam technology are designed to withstand the most extreme outs, deeper water and higher volumes of subsea consumers. marine environments, offering enhanced resilience to dust

New subsea LV control connectors and HV connectors for pro- and misalignment during installation. “The ability to clean the duction and processing are also under development. optics in the ? eld without specialized equipment makes it an

Demand for greater subsea connectivity is pushing the cable ideal choice for demanding offshore applications,” he says. and connector market forward. Hardisty says big data is being “Additionally, it can be integrated with electrical contacts, utilized subsea to improve well ef? ciency and economic perfor- providing a versatile solution for complex subsea systems.” mance. This trend requires ethernet and ? ber optic products. “Re- BIRNS has opened a new extreme depth hydrostatic pressure cently, we completed a project that involved installing a ? ber op- testing facility that allows 48 hour+ continuous precision testing tic subsea network to facilitate communication between onshore of ? ber optic connectors and cable assemblies at 6km in a con- locations and multiple offshore oil and gas production units.” trolled 2°C (±1°C) environment. The company’s products for

There is also a transition towards all-electric trees. Siemens these conditions include the Millennium™ underwater dry-mate

Energy has introduced a high-performance ? ber optic wet- subsea interconnect series that features fast data speeds and ex- mate connector for subsea networks, supporting oil and gas treme cold and depth pressure resistance. Optical ? bers are of- and future offshore wind applications. ten used in systems that require greater bandwidth over longer

Additionally, efforts are being made to digitalize connectivity distances, with a smaller footprint, smaller hull penetrations, for products. Siemens Energy is collaborating with UK universi- applications such as offshore oil and gas, towed arrays, side scan ties to develop ? rst-generation digital connectivity products as sonar systems and oceanographic instrumentation. it explores ways of introducing health monitoring into its prod- Frontiers in hazardous conditions are continuing to drive ucts to boost asset management capabilities. This could allow the cable industry forward. Space Norway, for example, has a customer to get data feedback from sensors in a connector announced SubCom as the contractor for a new high-speed system that tells if it is working well or has performance issues connection from the Norwegian mainland to Jan Mayen and such as running too hot or being subject to adverse shock. Svalbard. The 2,350km subsea ? ber optic Arctic Way Cable

Teledyne Impulse-PDM specializes in high-performance sub- System will be located entirely within the Arctic Circle.

sea ? ber optic connectors and interconnect systems, and Andy And in February, Meta announced its most ambitious sub-

Cackett, Teledyne Impulse-PDM European Business Develop- sea cable endeavor yet: Project Waterworth. The project will ment Manager, says he is seeing growing demand for solutions reach ? ve major continents and span over 50,000km (longer that can perform reliably in less-than-ideal installation condi- than the Earth’s circumference), making it the world’s longest tions. Expanded beam optical connectors are an ideal solution 24 ? ber pair cable project. Meta is also maximizing the cable for ? ber optic cables, he says, because they use lenses to transmit laid in deep water—at depths up to 7,000 meters—and using light between ? bers without requiring direct physical contact. enhanced burial techniques in high-risk fault areas, such as

The company’s latest developments in optical expanded shallow waters near the coast, to avoid damage.

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